Two charged with operating meth lab on game lands
VENANGO TWP — Bait piles, poached game and law-breaking hunters are some of what wildlife conservation officers can turn up on the job.
Methamphetamine labs? Not so much.
But that's what state police say Arthur “Chip” Brunst happened upon while on his beat in northern Butler County last month for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
And on Thursday, troopers arrested a Washington Township couple — 24-year-old Uriah Alexander Bish and 23-year-old Brittney Leigh Christy — with running the illegal and potentially toxic drug-manufacturing operation.
Both suspects are in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail each.
Police said Brunst was patrolling state game lands in Venango Township on March 30 when he noticed a large garbage bag. He didn't expect to find what was inside — the ingredients to cook up methamphetamine.
The illegal and very addictive drug can be easily made with common household products sold in stores.
Brunst notified authorities about his discovery and the state police Clandestine Lab Response Team was soon on scene.
The bag, according to officers with the police vice unit, held a “methamphetamine lab and lab precursors.”
The contents included one-pot cooking bottles, containers of lye, lithium batteries, Coleman fuel, drainer opener, cold pack boxes, salt, coffee filters, measuring glasses and storage bags.
The lab team cleaned up and disposed of the chemicals. Police then hatched a plan to hunt down the unknown meth lab cooks.
At the same site, officers placed a decoy — a garbage bag filled with assorted items to make it look like what the suspects had left behind in their bag.
Next, a hidden trail camera was positioned nearby.
The camera eventually captured images of Bish, police said, returning to the bag “in an attempt to retrieve his loaded one-pot cooks and other methamphetamine making paraphernalia."
On Thursday, patrol troopers spotted Bish's pickup truck in Center Township. Following a brief chase, police captured Bish and Christy.
Investigators said it didn't take long for the defendants to offers up confessions.
Both are charged with manufacturing a controlled substance, operating a meth lab, possessing chemicals and other precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, and illegally storing and disposing of chemical waste, all felonies.
They also face several misdemeanors, including possession of a controlled substance and reckless endangerment.
